GameStop Listing Hints at High Diablo III Price Tag

[Tom Goldman]

GameStop Listing Hints at High Diablo III Price Tag

It looks like GameStop is preparing for the eventuality that Diablo III will be priced higher than normal.

According to Modern Warfare 2 [http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?sku=640013&affID=77777&sourceID=ZiU6tGn4Hc0-NIiN3PKhlGsgr1h7FzWGug], and it looks like either GameStop or another entity wants to keep PC game prices this way.

To be fair, Diablo III's price could end up at $49.99 when all is said and done. Diablo III is on the radar, but still a faint blip, with the game's fifth character class not even revealed yet. Blizzard takes its time, and with good reason, but with absolutely nothing to base it on other than instinct I think we'll be lucky to see it by the end of 2010.

Sadly, this isn't anything new. Warcraft III was priced at $59.99 when it was released in 2002, almost unheard of at the time. I happily payed it anyway.
With the average console price already up to $60, it appears that publishers are going to succeed in also raising PC game prices, at least on these high profile titles.

The issue I have here is that a price hike on videogames that are going to sell millions strikes me as an incredible amount of greed. Do these companies really need to eke another $10 out of each loyal customer for titles that will continue to sell for potentially the next decade? As a videogame enthusiast myself, I want Blizzard to be financially stable until the end of time, and realistically $10 is not a whole lot for a game of superior quality. Still, when a game that will sell in the mega-millions is also given a higher price tag than normal, it does give me a slight feeling of being taken advantage of in a way.

Luckily, the new wave of cheaper, yet high quality digitally distributed games such as Torchlight [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/6697-Review-Torchlight] is only growing stronger and stronger. Plus, Diablo III's price tag is not yet set in stone, but I'm not holding my breath on that one.


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[oliveira8]

Price hike? How about a big NO.

 

[Skizle]

I Don't think that they will hike up the price. Warcraft 3 was in the works for a long time. You could watch the trailer when Diablo 2 was released so I can see them raising the price to catch up on expenses for it. So unless Diablo 3 is Delayed for another 2 years (I hope not) then they might do it.

 

[Thegreyfox666]

I would definitely play the extra money for a game like Diablo III; an average game, doubtful.

I would be alright paying $60 for games that are really good (Blizzard, Valve, MW2).

 

[Tyras612]

I only buy games so often, when all is said and done, a $10 price increase is chicken feed unless you're buying more then a game per month.
I'm happy to pay that bit extra for a game I know will be good.

 

[Epifols]

I was glad that Crysis Warhead and STALKER Clear Sky were 30 each, but I suppose I'd pay double that for a huge title. For example, if Deus Ex 3 by some miracle turns out to be worthy of the name.

 

[Elementlmage]

My favorite part of the whole MW2 incident is that they raised they price while simultaneously lowering the quality of the game.

But yeah, it seems like console tactics are starting to be tried out on the PC . When will the big guys learn that treating the PC like a disposable media platform, the way they do the consoles, is what is destroying their sales. The so called "piracy" is only a symptom of the greed.

 

[Brickcups]

For a game like this i'd hand over 60 bucks. I don't appreciate this new "trend" but at least you'd get your money's worth with the number of hours that would be put into this game.

 

[Emperor Inferno]

Yeah, I think I'm gonna go with my normal M.O. and wait a long... long time for the price to go down. I mean, if it lives up to and exceeds it's monumentally good predecessors, it'll be more than worth that, but I still won't be able to afford it.

 

[John Funk]

I don't know, Tom, I think you're reading into it a bit too much.

[blockquote]Official pricing and release dates have not been announced by Blizzard. Price and release date listed are estimates only and subject to change.[/blockquote]

War3 was $60, but I think WoW was only $50 at launch, wasn't it? They haven't announced pricing for SC2 yet either, and we're bound to get that before D3. I think this is just GameStop pulling stuff out their ass at the moment.

 

[quiet_samurai]

It's Blizzard.... why are people suprised at this?

They know folks are going to buy it no matter what.

 

[joshthor]

why does the author think gamestop wants the prices higher? its dumbass activision. as in activion blizzard. they started it with cod 6, starcraft 2 is posted as 60 im not suprized d3 is getting the same treatment.

 

[Lt. Vinciti]

Gamestop is filled with idiots,what happens when MegaCorporations get into the gaming.Also Blizzard is greedy.D3 will prolly be some WoW clone with a Casual setting so no one gets scared and declares it hard

 

[Something Amyss]

This is the one time where as a consumer the decision to not purchase games that practice this more than ever. People like Brickcups here are only talking themselves int allowing this because they think the content is worth the price. Here is the problem with that, with most games consumers are being nickled and dimed more than ever before.

Just feeling this video game is worth the higher sticker doesn't mean he's going to start shelling out for every PC title that comes along at a premium, though. At best, this demonstrates that people will pay more for hot titles...Hardly a surprise by any standards.

 

[DocAscii]

Anyone citing an MMO can just stop. WoW, for example, doesn't cost $50 and $35 for expansions or whatever... it costs that plus at least $150/year.

Second, going from $50 to $60 isn't much of a hike. It's more like inflation, considering how long games have been in that price range.

Third, I remember WC3 releasing at $90.

More, you're still getting good value on your money. I probably played over 200 hours of WC3 when you figure in DotA and other customs. I logged similar numbers for other big release multiplayer games like TF2, CS:S, Diablo 2, C&C games, Starcraft. Compare the cost per hour of entertainment to going out for a movie - $5+/hr, or lap dances - TEXAS$/hr

More, the way Yahtzee goes on about prices in Australia... Sucks to be abroad.

---

The real cost of SC2 and Diablo 3 will come in the form of hardware upgrades.

 

[John Funk]

Gamestop is filled with idiots,what happens when MegaCorporations get into the gaming.Also Blizzard is greedy.D3 will prolly be some WoW clone with a Casual setting so no one gets scared and declares it hard

Oh, I can certainly debunk that notion. It kicked my ass at BlizzCon once or twice

 

[Turtleboy1017]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please, PLEASE don't let PC gaming fall in this direction! First Activision, next Blizzard, and sooner or later maybe even VALVE! I can't bear to watch this happen, the moment greed overshadows a developers will to make a fun and enjoyable game for the masses, is the moment that gaming in a whole will go on a sharp and obvious decline for profit and nothing else.

I am praying that Activision has not set a trend for PC gaming, and their retarded idea to incorporate all this stuff is a single halfhearted attempt to wring more cash out of the average gamer.

If they have started a trend for this... and Diablo 3 falls in the same pit as MW2... I honestly will be giving up on PC gaming as a whole, it's common knowledge that if something works well for someone else almost everyone will be trying to emulate that strategy.

 

[Royas]

I don't know. PC AAA titles have been at the $50 mark for years, while everything else has gotten more expensive through inflation. Let's just accept the facts... eventually PC games are going to go up in price. There's no way for them not to, what with production costs increasing with inflation and with gamer demands for better graphics. The price will have to go up to maintain any kind of profit margin. People are just going to have to accept it, it's inevitable. Actually, I'm surprised it's taken this long.